Russell Roberts's Blog, page 1561

Are Americans Harmed by a Low-Priced Renminbi?

Here's a letter to the Washington Post:

Suppose that Robert Samuelson is correct that the Chinese renminbi is undervalued by 40 percent ("A new economic world order?" May 3).  His conclusion that the resulting low prices of Chinese exports pose a threat to America's economy doesn't follow.

To see why, ask what would happen if the prices of Chinese exports fell by 40 percent as a result, not of currency manipulation, but of a discovery by Chinese shippers of a proprietary new source of fuel for...

Tiger Woods won't be honored as husband of the year either

CNN reports (HT: Drudge):

Call it a tragic irony.

BP, now under federal scrutiny because of its role in the deadly Gulf of Mexico explosion and oil spill, is one of three finalists for a federal award honoring offshore oil companies for "outstanding safety and pollution prevention."

The winner of the award – chosen before the April 20 oil rig incident – was to be announced this coming Monday at a luncheon in Houston. But the U.S. Department of Interior this week postponed the awards ceremony...

Finding new buffets for the glutton

So there's this guy who is having trouble with his weight. What kind of friend would tell him about another all-you-can-eat buffet?

That's the feeling I had earlier today when I discussed the VAT tax on New Hampshire Public Radio with Isabel Sawhill. Her argument is that government spends more than it takes in and there's no way to close the gap by spending less–nobody wants to sacrifice. OK, I take that point. There are no principles that stop the government from letting some people live off ...

Taleb on many things

This week's EconTalk is a conversation with Nassim Taleb reflecting on blacks swans, fragility, robustness, debt, exercise, diet, and fame and fortune. It is based on a new edition of The Black Swan coming out in a week.

Arizona's Crime Wave and Immigration

The Chicago Tribune's outstanding columnist Steve Chapman reports some facts on Arizona's alleged illegal-immigrant-caused crime wave.  If you read only one item on this blog this month, let it be this column by Chapman.

Respect Must Be Earned

Here's a letter sent yesterday to WTOP, a DC news-radio station:

This morning's caller who reports that her "heart is broken" by Tea Partiers' "disrespect for Washington" reminds me of one of H.L. Mencken's many trenchant, useful, and eternal insights.  After describing government accurately as a "great pox of civilization," Mencken observed that "The fact that it [government:] is generally respected – that it possesses effective machinery for propagating and safeguarding that respect – is the...

Constitutionally Inconsistent

Like the A.C.L.U.'s Anthony Romero, writing in the "Letters" section of today's New York Times, I detest Arizona's anti-immigration statute.  And I agree that it at least skirts on the edge of violating the Constitution.

But it's mighty annoying that the A.C.L.U. and many other left-liberal voices so self-righteously defend the Constitution on the question of Arizona's legislation but champion that document's violation by the likes of Obamacare and other "progressive" policies.

Has the...

More Rainbow Stew

Here's a letter to Lynn Parramore of New Deal 2.0:

Dear Ms. Parramore:

Writing at the Huffington Post, you're comforted by Prof. Stephanie Kelton's claim that government programs can never be insolvent ("The Deficit: Nine Myths We Can't Afford," April 27).  Prof. Kelton explains: "government's ability to pay benefits does not in any way depend on the balance in the Social Security or Medicare Trust Funds.  Benefit checks come directly from the Treasury, and, as Alan Greenspan has admitted...

Brownies, Spinach, and Rainbow Stew

One of my very best and favorite former students, Laura Sacher, told me today that her nine-year-old daughter, Caeley, recently expressed the following desire at dinner: "Mommy, I wish there was a law that made brownies more healthy than spinach."

Caeley is an adorable and bright little girl, one who no doubt does truly wish – and for all the right reasons – that brownies were better for the human body than is spinach.

When her mom pressed her, though, even young Caeley conceded that no "law" c...

An Open Letter to George Will

Mr. George Will

Washington Post

Dear Mr. Will:

As you're aware, I almost always agree with you.  But I believe that you miss the boat in your column defending Arizona's new immigration statute ("A law Arizona can live with," April 28).

It's true that the traipsing of Hispanic immigrants across Arizonans' backyards at 3am poses a serious problem.  But this and other problems are artifacts of the severe restrictions currently placed on immigration by Uncle Sam.

Instead of excusing Arizona's...